CHAPTER EIGHT » CHAOS
"Why the hell are you hiding out in the morgue?"

☽

The plan was settled.

Scott, Lydia and Malia were in the bunker, attempting to freeze themselves to death. Well, not quite to death, but past the point a normal human could withstand.

It was a similar method used on Isaac Lahey once, and it was supposed to hypnotise them enough to draw out memories of Stiles.

As always, I was acting as bait. I questioned why, at first, considering my connection with Stiles. But Scott was hesitant in case there were any complications involving my powers.

"Liam said to meet him at the hospital," I told Brett and Venus, who were both stood in an empty silence. "I'm going now. We have to hold off the Ghost Riders from getting to Scott, Lydia and Malia." I glanced over at Venus, who was completely still, staring at a picture on the wall; one that must have once been a family picture. "Vee, I get how hard this is. But if you want them back–"

"When I first saw you again you were searching up Retrocognition," she turned her head. "Why?"

Brett also glanced up, his eyes flickering over to mine. I swallowed a thick lump in my throat, shifting my gaze.

"Rebecca," he prompted, his voice holding a more serious tone than I'd ever heard him have before. "Rebecca, you have to tell her."

His words held a degree of emotion, which cut through me, striking a chord. "Your sister," I breathed out, looking up to meet his eyes as I realised what had happened. Why hadn't he told me? This time, it was him who shifted his gaze away, focusing his attention elsewhere. "Brett, I'm so sorry–"

"Whatever you're hiding, you have to tell us," Venus said, her eyes wild and desperate.

Brett glanced over at me again, his eyes softening. "Please."

I nodded slowly, sharing a look with Venus, who was watching me carefully. "The night of the lacrosse game," I started. "I was rifling through my locker when I found a note. It was from Scott and Stiles, they put it in my locker for my first game at Beacon High."

"Did you have a vision? Did you see something that's going to happen?" Venus interjected, her eyes seeming to search mine.

I shook my head. "I didn't see something that was going to happen. I saw something that had already happened."

"Retrocognition," she breathed out.

"I thought it was just a flashback. You know, just me remembering Stiles," I paused. "But it felt the same as the other visions. I felt the heightened emotions, I felt something, something more."

"Could you do it again?"

"I've been trying but–" I cut off, shrugging my shoulders. "Nothing works." Venus nodded slowly, seeming to digest the information. "Look, I know you think I should be able to do something; that I have the answers. I just– I can't. I can't and I'm so sorry. But what I can do is buy time for everyone else to do something. We all can. So are you in?"

~

"Why the hell are you hiding out in the morgue?" A clueless Brett questioned over the noise of sirens as we stepped through the hospital doors.

"The Ghost Riders go after the living," Liam started, as realisation hit me and his idea didn't seem quite so weird anymore.

"So we hide with the dead," I finished, meeting his eyes. Our stares seemed to linger for a few moments until I quickly glanced away.

"Genius, isn't it?" Theo quipped sarcastically, causing me to roll my eyes. Why was he even here?

"When the Ghost Riders find us," Liam started, a firm tone in his voice as he turned to address Theo. "We're not gonna do anything for you. We're not gonna help you. We're not gonna save you. We're gonna do exactly what you would do to us. We're gonna use you as bait."

The siren's outside suddenly stopped, leaving us in a cold silence. Dread filled me. The unspeakable fear I always got before the Ghost Riders appeared began to take over.

"You still hear the ambulance?" Theo asked, voicing my thoughts. The others responded with a blank stare. "The siren, can you still hear it?"

"They're here," I confirmed, noticing the looks they were all giving me. My eyes scanning over the four of them, each of us falling silent as we began to listen out for their heavy footsteps. "They're coming."

The first two Ghost Riders broke inside within seconds, Liam and Theo taking them down with ease. Brett and I rushed to the doors, barricading them with whatever we could find. It was clear though, that our safety wasn't going to last.

"They're everywhere," I breathed out, glancing around me for something useful.

"Good."

"Really?" Theo turned to Liam. "You really need me to remind you that getting captured by the Ghost Riders isn't gonna help you save your friends?"

Heavy, intimidating footsteps began to approach again, and I watched the walls as shadows crept along them.

"We're all getting caught," Liam whispered to him. "You can do it while you're running. I'm going down fighting."

The approaching footsteps came to a stop, and at the end of the corridor five or six Ghost Riders stood waiting. My heart pounding, I glanced at Brett, then at Liam, who gave me a firm nod. He was the first to take a hasty step forwards, his claws protruding.

Upon Liam's roar filling the air, I also took a step forwards, preparing to fight alongside him.

The Ghost Riders took it as a signal, and began running at us. Liam took off towards them, Brett and I close behind.

And we weren't stopping.

~

In the midst of the madness, Liam managed to figure out that using the Rider's guns on them would be able stop them. Whether it sent them back, killed them, or just left them unconscious, we weren't sure; but whatever it was, it worked.

After Liam knocked down the last one, everything seemed to go quiet. All I could hear were the pounding hearts of each one of us, and the heavy breaths we took.

It was too quiet.

"They're still here," I whispered, in fear of them hearing us. I set my eyes on the end of the corridor; watching, waiting. I could just feel it, I could feel that they were going to appear.

"I feel it too," Venus said, beginning to back up slightly.

We were right.

Their heavy footsteps sounded again as they headed towards us. Both Liam and Brett roared as I stood a little behind, noticing Theo rushing towards the elevator and frantically pressing the button. At first I thought he was trying to escape, but when he nodded at me I caught on to his idea. Quickly taking Vee's arm, the two of us rushed inside as Theo pulled Liam and Brett away, the both of them tumbling in with us.

"What are you doing?" Liam questioned, beginning to scramble up again.

A smug grin played on Theo's lips, as the elevator doors began to close shut. "Being the bait."

"No!" Liam cried out, reaching the doors just as they dinged shut. In a breathless defeat, he leaned against the doors, watching us all.

"You have to admit," I began, my head rested against the wall as I also tried to catch my breath. "This newfound heroism of his is very attractive."

Liam looked at me almost disapprovingly, but I noticed Brett smirk, turning to face me. "Agreed."

As the lift moved down at an agonisingly slow pace, our slightly more relaxed silence became tainted by tension as Theo's screams echoed around us.

I found myself sharing a look with Liam, knowing he too wasn't quite prepared to let that go on. But was there anything we could do?

As the lift came to a stop, I felt myself suddenly jolting back as Liam's hand slammed against the button, taking us straight back up again.

"What the hell are you doing?" Brett snapped, whipping around to face Liam.

"We can't just leave him," Liam protested, causing Brett to let out a heavy groan.

"And what the hell are you going to do?" He argued back. "Theo was right earlier. You getting captured by the ghost riders isn't going to help save your friends."

"I have to do something," Liam bit back, holding his stare with Brett, neither of them willing to back down.

"No, you don't," Venus spoke up, her voice cutting through the cloud of tension. "It's my time to shine."

"What are you talking about?" I questioned, straightening up slightly. We reached the level we'd left Theo on, and Venus began to step in the way of the doors.

"I've got a spell I've been wanting to use for a while," she said, a hint of a grin forming on her face as the doors dinged open. "See you on the other side."

Venus stepped out as I rushed forwards to stop her. I felt a hand reach around my arm, tugging my backwards as the doors began to close shut again.

"Let her go," Brett said softly, pulling me back towards him. "Let her go."

Swallowing thickly, I watched until the closing doors cut us off from seeing Venus, the elevator heading back down once more.

Brett didn't remove his hand, only softening his grip slightly. Liam watched us both as silence briefly filled the space once again.

"So, are you two like a thing now?"

I snapped my eyes over to him, my mouth parting in slight shock. "Are you serious right now?"

"Even if we were, how is that any of your business?" Brett responded harshly, and I could feel the atmosphere becoming tense again.

Liam shrugged nonchalantly. "I was just wondering."

Brett began to let go of me, taking a step towards Liam. I watched unsurely, feeling irritated vibes radiating from both of them. "Who do you think you are Liam?"

"Brett," I cautioned, knowing these two well enough to realise this wouldn't end well.

"Why the hell are you questioning me?" He retorted, moving closer to Brett. If I couldn't hear his pulse rate racing, I'd have known he was about to snap anyway because of the anger blazing in his eyes. "You think you've got it all now? You finally decide not to be such an asshole; do a couple of heroic acts; try and win Becca's trust. And now you think she'll suddenly care about you?"

"What the hell is your problem?" Brett snapped back, shoving Liam slightly after he'd got so close.

"Boys," I cautioned again, slowly edging towards them both.

"My problem?" Liam retaliated, pushing Brett back much harder. "My problem is you. It's always been you."

Brett gritted his teeth, standing his ground. "You're just mad things aren't going your way."

All of a sudden, Liam lunged for Brett, the two of them crashing back into a wall. Brett slumped to the floor as Liam began to send punches flying his way.

"Liam!" I called out, as Brett managed to move away from him, getting some hits in of his own. In a rage, he pushed Liam backwards again, with such force that he practically went flying.

At that moment, the doors had opened, causing Liam to slide along the floor of the empty corridor. I glanced at Brett in shock, as he stood catching his breath, his shoulders rising and falling.

A figure suddenly stepped in front of us, glancing back and forwards from a bloodied Liam, to Brett and I in utter confusion.

"Scott," I said awkwardly, giving him a weak smile. "Hey."

"What the hell is going on?"

~

After we'd met up with Scott, we found ourselves traipsing through the hospital corridors. The tension was thick, and I was certain Liam and Brett were ready to rip each other's throats out at any given moment.

Liam took the lead, attempting to cool off, Scott and I following whilst Brett was busy sulking behind us.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Scott questioned for about the hundredth time.

"I told you, I'm fine," I assured. "They just got into a bit of a fight, that's all."

Scott glanced up ahead at Liam, shaking his head slightly. "We don't need this right now."

"Why are you telling me this?" I questioned. "I'm not the one getting into fights. For once."

Before Scott could respond, there was a loud crash from behind us, causing me to stop in my tracks. I heard a grunt from Brett and turned around only to catch him disappearing into green dust, leaving Mr Douglas in his place.

"No!" I cried out, launching forwards as Scott wrapped his arm around my middle, pulling me back before proceeding to step in front of me.

Furious tears sprung to my eyes and I quickly blinked them away as Liam came to Scott's side, his body tensing upon seeing our school teacher.

Brett was gone. Nearly all my friends were gone. And we still weren't any closer to getting them back.

"He can't take three of us," Liam stated, as Scott shook his head in disbelief.

"No way."

I felt my body shudder as Mr Douglas growled, a twisted hint of a grin forming on his face. "Hollenhund!"

I heard another low growl from behind me and whipped my head around, watching Parrish appearing in his hellhound form. His eyes had a dark, frightening look in them.

"Parrish," Scott started as he began to step towards us. "Parrish, you don't wanna do this. Stop!"

"The train is coming," Mr Douglas said, as he too began stepping closer. They were closing in on us. "There's no stopping the Wild Hunt. You'll make a fine Ghost Rider, Scott. And I'll have a true Alpha by my side."

"Like hell you will!" I found myself snapping, keeping my chin up as I faced Mr Douglas.

Scott desperately turned his head in the direction of Parrish. "Parrish! Stop!"

"And then a Banshee," the man continued. "A were-coyote..."

"A Stiles."

My heart jumped, my breath catching in my throat. Mr Douglas stopped, looking confused as he tried to pinpoint the sound of the source. I felt a smile begin to play on my lips. "A what?"

There was a grunt and Mr Douglas was knocked to the ground with a heavy thud, leaving Stiles Stilinski stood in his place, his trusty bat in hand.

"Bad guy, right?" He asked, looking up at the three of us. "I didn't misread that?"

Mr Douglas growled and began to pull himself up again, causing Stiles to let out a yelp, rushing to the side. Scott and Liam took the opportunity and grabbed Parrish, spinning him around in the other direction and sending him flying into Mr Douglas. They both smashed into the wall with a crash.

With a huge grin on my face, I watched as Stiles turn to face us. His bat slipped from his hands, clattering to the floor as he rushed over, engulfing Scott into a huge hug. "Buddy!"

"Oh, it's so good to see you."

Stiles moved away, his grin widening as he also crashed into me with a bone crushing hug. I gripped hold of him tightly, overjoyed tears spilling down my cheeks. "I missed you."

"I missed you too, Bex."

"Hey, hey, hey!" I heard Liam shout. Stiles quickly let go of me, giving Liam a surprisingly big hug. "It's so good to see you too!"

"Yeah, no, yeah! Good to see you, Stiles. But, uh..." the two broke away as I glanced over at Parrish, who was engulfed in an angry rage of flames. "Okay. Yeah, we should go. Go, go!"

Stiles grabbed the sleeve of my jacket as we rushed down the corridor, trying not to be engulfed by the roaring flames Parrish was sending out. We ran for a short while, until we found a couple of rooms that Stiles instantly began searching.

"Can't believe I'm gone a couple days and the whole place falls apart!" He shouted over the loud noises being made as he rifled through things.

Scott and I shared a look. "No, you were gone for three months," Scott corrected, just as Stiles stumbled out of the room.

"I was... What?" He asked in disbelief, already heading into the opposite direction. "Okay, if they don't let me graduate, I swear to God–"

"What are you looking for?" I questioned after another small crash sounded.

"Ah! This!" He returned, setting down a large liquid nitrogen tank, which clattered as it met with the floor. "And him." He nodded in the direction of Parrish, who'd just turned the corner and begun heading down the corridor to us. "Grab him. Grab him now."

I shared a look with my brother, knowing this was going to hurt like hell. Parrish ran at us and the three of us dashed forwards, getting a firm grip on him. Pain harshly seared through me, causing my skin to feel like it was completely burning off.

With slight difficulty, we pushed Parrish against a wall, as Stiles sprayed him with the liquid nitrogen. He dropped to the floor, as Liam began squirming, yelps sounding from him. "God, ow!"

"Liam, you're fine," Stiles said, watching him in confusion as I glanced down, examining my slightly charred hand.

"God, that doesn't feel good," Liam said, beginning to brush the air around him. "You know?"

My hand dropped back to my side as I shared a look with Stiles.

"Stiles?" Parrish suddenly asked, looking up at him in confusion. "What are you doing here?"

"Buddy, love you, but we're way past that, okay?" He responded, all of us turning our attention to him. "You gotta fill us in. What's going on?"

"Douglas..." Parrish trailed off as Liam and Scott both began to help him up. "He's merging the worlds so the Ghost Riders can cross over."

"Yeah, he wants his supernatural army in our world," Liam added.

"How do we stop him?" Scott asked, now looking to Parrish for answers.

"The train. It's coming."

"Okay, and how do we stop that?" Scott queried, as I looked up at what appeared to be a board of train stops on the wall.

"You can't stop it," Parrish stated.

"Then what the hell are we supposed to do?" I asked with a frown, seeing no possible way out of this.

He tilted his head to glance at me. "You divert it."

❥

A/N

Hello, I'm back and all my exams are finally done.

This took forever to write but gotta love an action packed chapter and a good old Brett and Liam fight.

Somehow, I've actually almost finished writing the first half of this season, and there's now only a few more chapters to go. But boy do I have a lot in store for you guys.

Thanks for reading 💛